Matty’s unfinished soup was whisked away and a portion of trout was placed before us. The one good thing about this whole experience so far was that I had been eating good food again, but at this moment I was having as much trouble as Matty in eating anything much. Siegfried was saying something to me. I nodded and smiled, that knot of worry still in my stomach. Where the devil was Queenie? She couldn’t have left the castle, which meant she was somewhere and presumably safe. Knowing her, maybe she’d found a warm corner to curl up in and would have awoken feeling guilty by now.

I glanced across at Matty, who was now trying to hide the trout under a lettuce leaf.

“Is something wrong?” I whispered to her.

“No, nothing at all. Why should anything be wrong?” she said. “But I just heard that the old man was poisoned. My maid told me.”

“Your maid told you?” I asked with concern. “How did your maid find out?”

“She overheard Patrascue talking.”

“I see.” I wondered how many other people in the castle had overheard something and whether everyone now knew about the murder. So much for keeping it from Nicholas’s father if even servants knew about it.

I observed her face. Just how much had her maid overheard? Did Matty really know that the poison was intended for Nicholas? She didn’t seem to and she went on, “It’s very upsetting. My whole wedding is turning into a nightmare. I don’t know why I thought it was such a good idea to come to the castle in the first place. Stupid of me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. We could have been at the palace in Bucharest, going to theaters and enjoying ourselves.”

She broke off as her father, the king, rose to his feet. Dragomir rapped on the table with his gavel. “Pray silence for His Majesty King Michael.”

The king proceeded to welcome all his guests, especially the bridegroom and his parents, and raised his glass in a toast to friendship between the two nations forever. We drank—those of us who were in the know a little tentatively, our eyes watching everyone else. Nobody keeled over, however, and the king went on.

“As we share in the joy of our daughter’s nuptials, I am delighted to announce that there will soon be a second celebration to follow this one. My son has informed me that he too will take a bride.” Murmurs of approval from around the table. “And we shall be most delighted to welcome another descendant of our esteemed Queen Victoria into the family. Her father was my good friend, and I look forward to having her as my daughter.”

I had been looking up and down the table to see who he was talking about.